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| Mr. Jim Suits shares information on grant opportunities available at Foreign Ag Service that can enhance world trade |
Baton Rouge, La. – The Southern University Land-Grant Campus
hosted a seminar and ezFedGrants certification registration presented by Mr.
Jim Suits, a USDA/Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) official on April 27. Suits
presented information on the agricultural trade capacity building program opportunities
available at his agency. He indicated that there were not many names on the
list of grant participants from the SU Land-Grant Campus. Thus, he encouraged
faculty to write grant proposals on any of the five priority areas that would
enhance world trade. He further added
that these opportunities can impact developing countries in places like West
and East Africa in encourage them to engage safely in the global market. He went on to list the five priority areas
that include Post Harvest Loss Reduction; Climate-Smart Agriculture; Nutrition;
Market Information Systems; and SPS/WTO Compliance. He noted that emerging
issues facing the developing world include electricity, future of trade and
permanently displaced persons. He then went on to point out that the FAS has
programs in place to address such issues. Top three programs in place to
address the problems include: USDA Scientific Exchange; Food Assistance; and
Commodity. In conclusion, Mr. Suits stated that grant proposals from various
partners including universities are favorably reviewed and awarded.
Suits concluded his inaugural visit to Louisiana with the
introduction of the USDA Grants Management System known as “ezFedGrants.” The
system involves different levels of authentication. He registered some SU
Land-Grant Campus employees for one of those levels following his presentation.
Definition:
SPS – Sanitary and Phytosanitary
WTO – World Trade Organization
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